Title: Retirement

The sound from the explosion was deafening. All around him OWO sector agent Brian, codenamed 043, could see the fortress breaking apart and falling into the cliffside sea below. This was hardly new to the experienced gazelle. He had seen bases explode so frequently he could even time when to put earplugs in. He chuckled to himself as he pulled the plugs from his long ears.

“Well DiVatto, it looks like your plans are foiled again! Care to shake your fist and curse me? Come now, I know you…"

But Brian stopped when he looked over to the supervillain. The intimidating bear that he fought with so frequently was pinned down under a large steel beam. His face twisted into a grimace of pain that Brian had never seen before. He ran over to the bear, all pretense of their usual performance lost in the sprint.

“No, no, no! DiVatto don't you do this to me! Stop playing around and get out from that thing."

DiVatto coughed involuntarily and a spatter of blood soaked Brian's lapel. He was struggling to breathe and in all his encounters with the brutish SNOOT operative, Brian had never seen him this weak.

“I don't think I'm making it out this time, Brian", DiVatto wheezed. He reached up to grab the gazelle's face and caressed it gently.

“But you're fast enough, you can still make it out alive. You have to go."

Brian shook his head and grabbed the bear's paw with his own. He looked him directly in the eyes and smiled. A stream of tears falling slowly down his face.

“You'll make it out. You always do."

He got up slowly to his feet just as another explosion wracked the building.

BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

Brian bounded through the crumbling building, pumping his arms and legs faster and faster. He came to the end of a hallway with a glass window, gritted his teeth, and jumped through.

CRRRRRRRAAAASSSSHHH!

“Could you, for once, not make your escape so harrowing?"

Brian looked up at the marmoset that piloted the helicopter he was now sitting in and gave a tired chuckle.

“And where would the fun be in that Gary?"

He looked to the bear shaped fortress as it crumbled into the seabed below and felt a twinge of regret. He suppressed it and focused instead on picking glass shards out of his fur.

A few weeks later, the news broke. DiVatto's body was found washed up on the nearby shoreline. He was pronounced dead and the OWO offices erupted into jubilant cheering. Brian looked over to his team and sighed. He went back to cleaning out his OWO operative issued desk. He had put in for an early retirement the day after he had returned from the last mission. It didn't feel right to keep doing this anymore. And now that they were sure DiVatto was dead, he was guaranteed to get his severance and thensome. Gary walked over in front of his desk and crossed his arms.

“I just can't figure it"

“What do you mean Gary?", Brian said in an annoyed tone.

“Why are you leaving OWO? You're at the top of your game right now and with taking down that damned bear you could have been promoted!"

“My heart's just not in it anymore." Brian said calmly. He looked up to Gary and smiled.

“Don't worry about me, I'm sure the agency will take care of me"

“But what about…"

But Brian cut him off before he could answer.

“Gary drop it. I've made up my mind."

Gary paused for a moment, quickly turned around, and left Brian to finish clearing his things.

Brian unlocked his car and put his stuff inside the passenger seat. For being with the agency for years, he didn't have a lot of personal belongings there. He turned the ignition in the car and then hesitated. He checked around him, and being satisfied that he was alone, opened a small shoebox on the top of the pile.

“You were supposed to come back like you always do Diva..."

In his hands he held tight onto a picture of himself and DiVatto. It was a quiet private beach they were posing in and DiVatto had his hand around Brian's waist. They both looked so happy.